US Becomes India's Second Biggest Oil Supplier, Saudi
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March 15, 2021 U.S. becomes India's second biggest oil supplier, China's Jan-Feb refinery output up 15% on solid Saudi plunges to No. 4 demand for fuels The United States overtook Saudi Arabia as India's China's daily refinery throughput rose 15% in the first two second biggest oil supplier after Iraq last month, as months of the year, from a low base a year earlier, as fuel refiners boosted cheaper U.S. crude purchases to record demand remains solid and refineries rush to hike levels to offset OPEC+ supply cuts, data from trade production ahead of maintenance season. sources showed. Refinery processing reached 114.24 million tonnes in the The switch in supplies, triggered by lower U.S. crude January-February period, data from the National Bureau demand, coincided with Saudi Arabia's voluntary extra 1 of Statistics showed on Monday, equivalent to about million barrel per day (bpd) output cut, on top of an 14.13 million barrels per day (bpd). The agency didn't agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum disclose numbers for January and February separately. Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to maintain The daily rate is about the same level as in December lower production. 2020, up from 12.07 mln bpd in Jan-Feb 2020 and also India's imports from the United States - the world's top above the 12.68 million bpd recorded in the first two producer - rose 48% to a record 545,300 bpd in February months of 2019. from the prior month, accounting for 14% of India's overall Chinese refineries slashed output in the first quarter last imports last month, the data obtained by Reuters showed. year as the rapid spread of the coronavirus decimated In contrast, February imports from Saudi Arabia fell by fuel demand. 42% from January to a decade low of 445,200 bpd, the Chinese refined fuel consumption has staged a strong data showed. Saudi Arabia, which has consistently been rebound from coronavirus-induced weakness as the one of India's top two suppliers, slipped to No. 4 for the economy recovered and government stimulus kicked in. first time since at least January 2006. Refinery output growth is expected to slow in the second India's oil import data by country from before 2006 is not quarter of 2021 as independent plants go off-line for available to Reuters. regular maintenance amid weakening profit margins as "U.S. demand was weak and refineries were running at crude oil prices strengthen. low rates so the U.S. crude had to go somewhere, and But the scheduled startup of a 200,000 bpd crude oil unit Asia is the region which has seen rapid demand at private refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp in eastern recovery," said Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul Haq. China will compensate for some of the curbs by smaller "China has not been taking U.S. oil because of (the) trade independents. problem, so India is the obvious choice," he said. "Runs should slip to below the 13.5 million bpd level Iraq continued to be the top oil seller to India despite a through to May. Domestic inventories should see some 23% drop in purchases to a five-month low of 867,500 significant drawdowns in the next two-three months bpd, the data showed. (during a period of) maintenance and robust demand," The UAE slipped to fifth position from third in January, said Mia Geng, a Singapore-based analyst at energy while Nigeria rose to third from fifth, exporting 472,300 consultancy FGE. bpd, the most since Oct 2019. The latest data also showed China's crude oil production India shipped in 3.92 million bpd of oil in February, a in the first two months rose 0.4% from a year earlier to decline of 18% from January, the data showed. 32.08 million tonnes, or 3.97 million bpd. That compared Haq said India may have taken smaller volumes in with an average of 3.89 million bpd for 2020. February because, similarly to others in the market, it Meantime, China's natural gas output expanded 13.5% in assumed that OPEC+ might ease production cuts, January-February from a year earlier to 34.8 billion cubic potentially leading to lower prices. metres, extending a jump that saw near 10% growth for India has repeatedly called on OPEC+ to ease supply full-year 2020. curbs and has blamed Saudi's voluntary cuts for contributing to a spike in global oil prices. U.S. oil & gas rig count falls for first time since The country is the world's third biggest oil importer and November -Baker Hughes consumer, shipping in about 84% of its crude needs, and U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas relies heavily on the Middle East. rigs operating for the first time since November even as Its government has asked refiners to speed up crude prices soared to their highest since 2018. diversification of crude sources after Saudi Arabia's oil The U.S. oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future minister, in response to India's calls for producers to ease output, fell by one to 402 in the week to March 12, output cuts, told the country to dip into reserves filled with according to data on Friday from energy services firm cheaper oil bought last year. Baker Hughes Co. The Middle East's share of India's overall imports plunged That count is 390 rigs, or 49%, below this time last year. to a 22-month low of about 52.7%, while Africa's rose to The oil and gas rig count, however, has increased for the 15%, the highest since September. past seven months since dropping to a record low of 244 "(The) widening differential between WTI and Brent in August, according to Baker Hughes data going back to during December and January, and relatively subdued 1940. freight rates, offered India an opportunity to buy U.S. oil to U.S. oil rigs fell one to 309 this week, while gas rigs were make up for lower Middle Eastern suppliers," Haq said. unchanged at 92. Low supplies from the Middle East dragged OPEC U.S. crude futures soared to almost $68 a barrel this nations' share of India's oil imports to a record low in the week, their highest since 2018. Prices rebounded from April to February period. last year's crash, spurred by the coronavirus pandemic's 1 March 15, 2021 (continued) demand destruction. Oil producer Ovintiv nears south Texas asset sale for This week, the government revised down 2021's decline over $800 mln - sources expected in crude production. Output is seen falling Oil producer Ovintiv Inc is in advanced talks with a 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.15 million privately owned energy investment firm to sell its holding bpd, a smaller decrease than its previous monthly in a south Texas shale basin for more than $800 million, forecast for a 290,000-bpd drop. sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Before the pandemic, companies were cutting rigs about The sale of its Eagle Ford acreage would mark a four rigs on a weekly basis over the prior year to focus on milestone for Denver-based Ovintiv, which is on a multi- boosting cash flow, reducing debt and increasing year debt reduction plan it outlined in February. The plan shareholder returns. includes generating about $1 billion from divesting But a year ago, rig declines accelerated to an average of assets. 45 per week from late March through early June, until Ovintiv's shares have gained over 90% so far this year, higher prices in August spurred drillers to return to the amid a broad rally in oil producers aided by rising U.S. wellpad. crude prices. Enverus, which has its own rig count that showed drop of The prospective buyer is Pontem Energy Capital, which is two as of March 10, noted "This week marks one year run by Felix Energy founder Skye Callantine, Jeff Bartlett since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 and Cameron Brown, the sources said. a pandemic and one year since companies started While there is no guarantee that the deal will go through, looking to shed rigs." it could be announced as early as next week, according In the last year, however, Enverus said two gas-focused to one of the sources. regions "have actually seen an increase in drilling" with The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as the the Haynesville Shale in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas information is not public yet. Ovintiv declined to comment, up three to 52 rigs and the Marcellus Shale in while Pontem did not immediately respond to a request Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia up two to 44 rigs. for comment. Enverus said companies that have added the most rigs The Eagle Ford position, which was bought in 2014 for year-over-year include Marcellus and Haynesville about $3.1 billion from Freeport-McMoRan Inc, attracted producers like CNX Resources Corp (from zero to two), multiple private equity bidders, the sources said. National Fuel Gas Co (from one to three) in the Marcellus Pontem's bid was well above rivals, according to two of and Comstock Resources Inc (from five to seven). the sources. The biggest year-over-year declines came from Exxon The Eagle Ford asset sale, which Reuters first reported Mobil Corp (down 57 rigs to just eight now), was underway in November, would be the latest step ConocoPhillips (down 21 to 14) and Chevron Corp (down Ovintiv has taken to cut down debt and gain investor 19 to nine).